Only 4 more weeks! Eek!!

An update on Wideline is that she has gained another 0.2kg weighing in at 1.9kg and is doing great! They spend 4 days with us this week and it was really nice to be able to see how they are bonding and just what an amazing mother Widline is becoming.

It is really beginning to hit home that I will be leaving Haiti in 4 weeks. Exactly. I have been telling patients who have been coming to see me repeatedly that I will only have one or two more visits with them and their responses have me feeling pretty sad. One woman on Wed asked, “but who will take care of me now?” I have no answers for them as there are no new prospects for doctors to come and replace me here at the clinic. I hate the feeling of being one of those people who drops in here, works for awhile and then leaves. Where is the sustainability? Where is the continuity of care? What will become of these people now that the only free clinic in the area is no longer available to them? I have to admit I have not been sleeping that well the last few weeks as I have been consumed by the worry that perhaps I should find a way to stay longer to continue taking care of my patients here, I mean, how can I just leave!?! Deep breath Zeenia, deep breath. I know it is out of my control, I understand MBH is looking for docs and they have so far been unable to find someone, I feel certain that with the loads of education and teaching I have done with my patients leave them with more knowledge about how to stay healthy and when to seek medical care therefore empowering them immensely…but I still cannot shake all of the guilt. However I know I will be back here in Haiti and hopefully I will be able to reconnect with my patients and continue to the work I have begun here. I also recognize what elements need to be in place to create real change and I hope to be able to use this as a learning experience for future endeavors.

A proper latch can make a world of difference! Rachel and Nina talk breastfeeding in Shada.

Zaboka from one of my favorite patients, Rose!

If you all don’t know, Naturopaths Without Borders (www.ndwb.org) has become official and we will soon be coming to a resource poor country near you J In all seriousness, I am very excited that I can be a part of the groundbreaking work we will continue to do as an organization dedicated to providing quality Naturopathic health care to communities in the US and abroad who have minimal access to care. After seeing what a huge difference Naturopathic medicine has made here in Haiti I am sure that people and communities all over the world we become stronger and healthier with the education and medical care we can provide! When you give people the tools to be able to take their health into their own hands, to use local foods and plants as medicine as well as to educate them on appropriate use of pharmaceuticals (a big problem here is that you can walk into a pharmacy and purchase about anything which leads to many people buy antibiotics for everything from lack of appetite to cough to rash etc. If antibiotic resistance becomes rampant we as health care practitioners are in for some serious trouble, not to mention the inappropriate use of other more serious medications) you are giving them back the power that has been taken from them as they have to rely on others for everything from work, to medicine, to food…all the aspects of life. I hope to be able to work more on the community garden projects, educational workshops and community discussions about sexual education, nutrition, domestic violence and overall health and wellness. I would like to work on getting materials such as posters, books and teaching materials here for use as there is simply nothing here, and much less anything in Creole (this is tough though as a huge percentage of people, especially those who see me at the clinic, that cannot read or write so essentially pictures are the way to go). Sharon and I have been developing some classes for the community which I think can really be expanded into a whole series of lectures with powerpoint presentations, posters, props etc. We have such great responses from the community when we present to them and I know that it is only a matter of time before they start telling others what they have learned and others tell others and BAM! We have the makings of a revolution JDown with Tampico, I say! Access to birth control, a must! Stop feeding your infants under 6mo. water, it’s imperative! Get STI testing and treatment for all, it could mean saving a life! Ok ok, I will stop now...you get the point.

Sharon working with her translator Joseph in Shada.

This is what you look like after working all day in Shada with 50+ people in a  10x20" room with not enough water.

A special someone

It has been far too long since I have blogged but following up an amazing blog like the last one is hard work J Not to say that the last few weeks have not been great, as they always are, however sometimes it just takes a certain *something* to spark the flame that becomes a new and powerful blog. 

This week I wanted to introduce you to a young girl named Widline who came to us at 8mo ready to deliver her first child. She is a young teenage mother with no family to support her as we found out after the delivery. She stayed a few days to nurse her 1.4kg baby who we hoped would survive as we understand the chances of this are not great given the odds a baby of this size has to face. 10 days after giving birth she arrived here to inquire about why her baby was sleeping so much and not feeding, in fact the last time the baby fed well was right after birth. Marie and the other volunteers worked hard with her to get the baby breast feeding and introducing new ways to get a baby that small to get the milk in. It was very inspirational to watch all the love and energy that poured out from all the midwives and volunteers. We also had a group from Hands up for Haiti come and a wonderful OB/GYN named Dr. Malley who happened to be here when Widline came for an appt. She worked all afternoon with her on getting the baby to breastfeed and was exactly what Widline needed at that moment, a mentor or simply someone to care about her. At this time the baby had not even been named yet and so Dr. Malley and Marie helped her to think of names of people she loved or those who cared about her. She came up with Wideline as she said she had no family and no one who cared about her. This was one of the saddest things I have experienced here. Subsequently the story of her pregnancy came out and she stated the conception of Wideline had not been mutual or intended which made sense as to why she seemed so indifferent towards the baby…not to mention it is hard to bond with a baby who is saving all of it’s energy to survive so she was not very receptive or awake to outside stimulation. 

Dr. Malley formed quite a bond with Widline and offered her the Saint Christopher necklace she was given before this trip with the instructions that she should use it as protection for herself and her baby. Again, this energy and love shown to this young mother was truly amazing…Dr. Malley was asked to me the godmother which she accepted graciously and since then I have been sending her pictures and stories of Widline who comes by every 3-4 days. She was here two nights ago for a check up and also asked Marie if there was any way she could stay the night as she has no access to food elsewhere and she feels safe here. We told her she could come and stay a few nights anytime she needs, this young mother and her baby have defied all odds and though the baby is not out of the woods yet, she continues to grow stronger and healthier and yesterday appeared to finally get her suckling reflex to work properly and she breastfed like a champ! No more dribbling bits of milk into her mouth, no more hoping we can get enough nutrition into her, this baby is going to make it-I feel more certain of this every time she comes! I am so happy to have the chance to meet such an amazing young mother and her child and I am sure her story has impacted the lives of all who had a chance to meet her. We work towards making sure she has enough food to eat as it is scarce and possibly a new pair of shoes as her old ones are about 3 sizes too small. She is an inspiration and I am glad I have a few more months to get to know her.